Difference between Traditional Weddings vs. Western Weddings

Difference between Traditional Weddings vs. Western Weddings in Singapore

Marriage ritual gives people an opportunity to understand the difference between cultures. In fact, it is much easier to appreciate your culture over another’s through customary weddings.

Nonetheless, there’s always a larger difference between traditional weddings and western weddings. Here are some differences between the two:

Importance of the Weddings

Unlike in the Singapore, there has been a drastic change of the concept marriage within the West in that marriage has been altered and not considered a really important practice. However, Singapore still upholds the sanctity of marriage making it an important life event. Many people in Singapore follow this tradition and is varied according to their cultural background.

Furthermore, marriages in Singapore have still retained their moral and religious principles on marriage prohibiting same sex marriages in the country. In addition, unlike in the Western world, Singapore has always allowed inter-religious marriages.

Pre-marital Rituals

Generally Singapore has been on the forefront on having the sacredness of pre-marital matters. For example, marriage in is incomplete in Singapore unless there’s family involvement in a formal engagement or gift exchange ceremony.

Afterwards, this proceeds to the next phase which is formal engagement displaying levels of official commitment by the bride and groom then followed by the receiving of blessings from parents.

Wedding Ceremonies

Western wedding ceremonies are much simpler than weddings in Singapore. Weddings in the Western world are usually simple followed by moderate themes. They start with the arrival of the bride and the groom in the church and other places of worship followed by the arrival of the groom led by a male counterpart.

While in Singapore, weddings are more colourful and differ with the customs of the areas and also depending on the couples at hand. In addition, the bride can arrive before the groom and it can be done in a less religious place.

Exchange of Vows

Another major difference between the two weddings is the art of exchange of vows. For example, the west celebrates and cherishes such moments where the couple exchanges vows and rings in front of the person who officiates. In the west, both the bride and the groom accept each other in front of all guests.

However, in Singapore, the exchange ceremony is the main part of the wedding. There’s a religious representative who asks the groom and the bride if they accept each other in front of legal parties not just any other guests, and thus many Singapore weddings are done indoors for such purposes. Additionally, not many families are able to rent a hall or a prestigious location like in the West.

Wedding Dress

Last but not least is the wedding dress. Western wedding dresses are generally simpler in terms of color and complexity but cost more than the Singapore dress. In the West, it is customary for the bride to wear a white gown while the grown wears a black tux. On the other hand, the Singapore wedding dress depends on the regional tradition of the customs. Brides wear bright colored dresses while grooms wear equally colorful attires.